Artificial fishing lure



Sept. 13, 1949. 015mm 2,481,789

ARTIFICIAL FISHING LURE Filed June l0, 1946 /4 ZI l2 /4 /4 Patented Sept. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTIFICIAL FISHING LURE Clarence J. Smith, Lewistown, Ill.

Application June 10, 1946, Serial No. 675,638

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to an artificial iishing lure or bait, and more particularly to one in the form of a wigg'ling worm or snake, designed to take a steady wiggling action in the Water to make a strike, when trolling or reeling in the line and bait, to effectively attract and catch sh.

An object of the invention is to provide a wiggling worm artificial fishing lure, which embodies a plurality of linked body sections of material designed to float, and joined to cause a wiggling action in connection with a head having an angularly extending fiat surface, designed to be effected by the pressure of the water to cause the device to take a wiggling action in the water, thereby imitating a worm or snake in the water during a serpentine wiggling action with a slow or fast steady retrieve, in connection with a weight and hooks provided on certain of the sections of the device, which are attractively painted in various bright colors and designs to lure the iish.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wiggling worm artificial iishing lure comprising a long slim member serving the purpose of a casting plug or lure for the large-mouthed game fish while also serving to capture small-mouthed game fish that are usually caught on flies with a ily 'rod or by still fishing with bait. The device comprises a series of linked or pivoted sections permitting independent movement of each section, and is provided with a, novel form of l lead section or head so shaped as to cause it to take a perfect life-like serpentine wiggling action in the water at a very slow retrieve, making it possible for it to attract and catch fish that are seldom or never caught with the stubby, bulky plugs that are in general use, and combines the advantages of a casting rod lure and iiy rod lure, both by the use of casting rod alone.

Another object of the invention is to provide an artificial shig lurs in the form of a wiggling Worm or snake, which may be very easily and economically manufactured and the parts thereof assembled, to produce an attractive and comparatively cheap lure which will improve the catch of fishermen. Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wiggling worm artiiicial fishing lure constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional View showing the manner of connecting the sections thereof,

t. Figure 3 is a sectional View of the tail end secion,

Figure 4 is an end view of the section shown in Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 2 of an intermediate section provided with a hook and showing the manner of mounting the latter,

Figure 6 is an end view of the part shown in Figure 5,

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the head sectionof the lure.

Figure 8 is a bottom plan View of the head section shown in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a longitudinal central sectional View of the head section shown in Figures '7 and 8, and

Figure 10 is a front elevation of the head section shown in Figures '7, 8 and 9.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the artificial fishing lure in the form of a wiggling worm or snake designed to take a serpentine wiggling action, is shown as made up of a plurality of sections, such as seven intermediate sections Ii) composed of short cylindrical sections or lengths of floating material such as wood or the like, which composes the body of the lure. These sections composing the body are made up of a hardwood dowel rod or other buoyant material, which are bored longitudinally and axially or centrally thereof, as indicated at II from end to end and through the ends thereof. The cylindrical body sections I0 may be of uniform length, and receive through the bores Il thereof, chain links I2 consisting of single strands of wire having eyes I3 formed at the opposite projecting ends thereof beyond the ends of the sections I0 which are connected to corresponding eyes of the next adjacent section in line to form a jointed body structure. The bores II may be of suitable size to receive the lengths of wires or links I2, with the eyes` I3 projecting, and then the bores sealed around the wires lengthwise thereof at the ends, as indicated 4at I4 to anchor the links orchain wires therein and prevent the entrance of Water, to interfere with the buoyancy of the sections. Thus, the jointed cylindrical sections IB of the body are connected by a wire chain formed by the various links connected as described, to permit angular or pivoted movements of one section with respect to the other and to form a ilexible chain or cable.

The head section lis indicated at I5, and is located between the parallel ends 20 -of the see- Y tions I0, except the eye of the front link -of the wardly, giving the tendency to sink. This results in stabilizing the lure as it is seen in the upright position in Figure 1 of the drawings, when it is pulled through the water. Thewater pressure acting on the flat face of the head or lead section causes it to turn and as the water pressure at the start of the turn is greater than the stabilizing power ofthe buoyant Wood and sinking metal, thel head wilhrise in the water andlpresent a g'rfeatverffslope tb the watertolos'e some Qfv'its pressure resulting in"stabilizing power to bring it to -;-an erect position again. The momentum throws head or lead section I5, Vwhich is exposed infibt" of the flat surface I1, as shown inTFigure 1 of the drawings, for the attachment of aline thereto, or a wire or gut leader of .a'iisliingllinepfor use in casting, trolling, or retrieving, when pulled y 'without depending upon water currents, eddies through the water.

Certain of the intermediate sections may be providedwithfhooks 2 I depending;k therefrom, Vas well as the tail section 22 which is preferably rounded or convex at'the freefend, as indicated at 23. These hooks 2| have the shank portions 2-4 thereof in the intermediate sections; provided with laterally bent portions 25 .at theforward ends thereof, bent Iover=tl'ie-endsf20 of thefcorresponding section 1I 0 ofl the'fbody 4to firmly -anch'or the same along sid-e of the links I2 and through theibores fI I.`- The Vtail-section 22 has its hook 2| formed so that the shank 24 thereof extends entirely'th'rough the bore-II ofv the tail section-22 and constitutes one of the links of thechain vand is formed .withan eye 26'y which is joined vto-the corresponding eye I3 of the next adjacent end section--IIV-of Ltheintermediatesections of the body of the lure.Y Also, beneath the lead section I5 .at-the cylindrical portion thereof-in rear of the iiat head, a tear.v drop= weight-21may be provided extending radially and having awire 28 on which the same =is formed, extending ,through a lateral opening 29 in the cylindrical part I5, -being passed through a small hole punched through the bottom of theepart I5 to thecenter Vhole or boi-ef and Wrapped around the-wire link I2 of the'l-chain provided in the leadsection or head, asindicated at 30. y 7 e Le It is also to be understood Vthat wherel tl'ie Shanksl of the 'hooks '2l Aare extended longitudinally'thrcughthe bores gor holes-I I runninglongif- 25 tudinally through all the sections, thatthe ends of the bores are sealed by means'ofwax, solder, paint Aor other suitable material. The sections vare ornamente'd Ywith paint in brightattractive colors and designs, to makeit attractive Yto the ilsh to lure the same. Also', one or two Vof the hooks may be eliminated from the body if"nce`s sary, to meet the requirements lof statelaws but it should be noted that nuse,the`flat surface of the head is always uppermostQeXce'pt wh`en"t takes .a serpentine wiggling action tending to turn and reverse its direction of turningfupo'n being acted upon by the pressure of the water. The hooks tend to hang downwardly at all times,

and therefore make a sure V`catch of theflsh.

This is due to the fact that the "weight'o'f'the hooks cause the sa-me to hang'down'wardly in connection with'the weight 21 at the underside of the section I 5 in rear `of the nat headl portion,

In the use Of the device, withthejointed'sections of the body connected by the chain linksn as described, between the ends thereof, the body has a tendency to rise in the water due to the buoy--V ancyY of the material thereof, whereas the hooks and weight 21 will cause the sameto move downthe device off balance, causing it to attempt to -trfwitlia serpentine wiggling action in the manner of agworm or snake going through the 'water'. 'This Vis true in casting as well as in trolling, with-fa slow. or. fast steady retrieve caused by the shape of the head and the balance of the head,

thereof with respect-'to tlfieniiffal'b'ody diameter rtrieve friakrffgii possibieferfit te attractfamictclfiffis'lie-th'atlfaief seldom or l' never caught by stubb, bulky plugsf-fthatfare in Igeneral eusei and:y therefore eombining the' advantages of aca'sting casting rod alone. The shape and design of the headiand' the vperfectbala'ning'effect ofthe little tear drop Weight underthelhead make possible the useof principlesfthat do" notexist fx1-common,

While in the foregoing there has beenshown and-describedthe preferred embodiment of ,this

inventionD it isfrto-,be i-understood .that minorv changes in the details of construction, combina`l tion and arrangement of parts 'mayY be 'resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

A wiggling worm-artificial Yfishing lure compris-4 ing a plurality of floating body sections of sub-V stantially uniform length including a tail section and a lead section, a chain having links Vdisposed through said sections, said sections being sealed at the ends thereof, saidlinks having eyes inter-` connected between the sections, a hook on the tail section andprojectingfrom theV rear end thereof. downwardly and formed withan eye at thefront of the tail section connected to the .eyeof ,the nextadjacent section, .-.therear end of the -tail section being roundedvand all of thesections have ing external ornamental surfaces, v`other hooks 'I5 projecting from certain of otherof said sections 5 downwardly and having shanks extending through said certain sections, said lead section having an angularly extended, downwardly projecting, flattened, widened head portion with a rounded undersurface, and the eye of the front link of the chain projecting from said flat surface for connection to a line, and a weight at the bottom of the lead section adjacent said rounded undersurface and having a Wire shank extending into the same and wound around the link therein, said head portion causing the pressure of the water to act on the at surface of the lure, to cause wiggling thereof in the Water in retrieving, trolling or otherwise moving through the Water.

CLARENCE J. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number D. 59,436 171,769 664,476 862,206 870,069 1,109,439 1,359,618 1,406,834 1,419,540 1,429,571 1,474,823 1,582,713 1,737,688 1,791,316

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Smith Oct. 18, 1921 Buel Jan. 4, 1876 Hall Dec. 25, 1900 Sillman Aug. 6, 1907 Wilcox Nov. 5, 1907 Maus Sept. 1, 1914 Oliver Nov. 23, 1920 Fisher Feb. 14, 1922 Brown June 13, 1922 Davis Sept. 19, 1922 Hines Nov. 20, 1923 Welch Apr. 27, 1926 Readman Dec. 3, 1929 Jordan Feb. 3, 1931 Heddon May 5, 1942 

